The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for remote wireless control of components of a vehicle using a combination of a programmable electronic host device with a vehicle-specific transponder.
New vehicles are typically delivered to customers with a number of physical (metal) keys and, with well-equipped vehicles, one or more wireless remote control units for operating vehicle features such as door locks. These wireless units usually employ either RF (radio frequency) or infrared transmissions to send signals to a vehicle receiver unit.
A problem with these known remote control units is their limited functionality. For example, many remote control units only permit operation of vehicle locks and actuation of alarm systems. Further, the functionality of these units is typically fixed, with no provision for altering the vehicle function to be controlled when a particular remote unit button is actuated.
In contrast to the lack of programmability of most remote control units, programmable hand-held electronic devices have become very popular with consumers. This is due in part to the inherent flexibility of these devices, where new functionality may be added merely by downloading and executing new programs on the devices, in part to the large amount of information that can be stored therein and rapidly accessed by a user, and in part to the intuitive nature of user interfaces which often permit user interaction by pointing at objects displayed on a touch-sensitive screen.
Many different types of programmable electronic devices exist, including programmable personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), which can accept and execute a program, programmable cellular telephones, and portable computers. Hand-held electronic devices recently have been further enhanced by the development of removable cartridges containing wireless transmitters and receivers. These cartridges allow the device operator to communicate with other hand-held devices or, for example, to receive and/or send information over networks such as the Internet.